Parts made by various casting techniques have some form of excess material, which must be removed from the object during finishing. In many instances it is often desirable to perform additional machining on cast pieces during the finishing process. In the finishing of metal parts in particular, the work objects are often very heavy, making it difficult to position these items without mechanical assistance. Even with mechanical assistance, it is often difficult to accurately position a work piece in proper relation to grinders, cutting wheels, drill presses, or other machining tools. Once positioned, work pieces must be secured in place during machining. Worker fatigue and injury can result from the worker attempting to position heavy work pieces during materials finishing processes. Workers may also be injured when they attempt to secure work pieces in place during machining. Improving the ease and speed of work piece aligmnent, providing greater tooling accuracy, improving worker safety, and improving equipment reliability are still possible and desired.